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[Video] How to Personal Train Clients Online

Jonathan — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 04:12:35 +0000

Last week I published a post called Why You Should Train Clients Online and How to Get Started.

In it, I gave my step by step system for acquiring clients and systemizing and online training business. While this system could be applied to any software, I did a month of due-diligance before posting it and recommended Trainerize. (You can click the link to get a free 30-day trial)

Since then, hundreds of you have signed up for the trial and many have already started training clients and making money from the system. In response to numerous requests, I invited the CEO, Sharad, onto a live webinar to go through the set up of the software and answer any questions.

We had a packed webinar and Sharad went through everything from setting up your personal free website, loading clients, integrating with YouTube, configuring your payment processor, and all the ins and outs of creating client profiles. There were also some great questions at the end that he covered.

Below is the video. Below it, I’ve pinpointed the times to fast-forward to if you’re looking for specific advice on how to do something. Feel free to bookmark this video either here or on YouTube and refer back whenever you like.

~1:20 – How to set up your personal free website

~4:12 – Your panel upon login

~6:20 – Setting up your personal profile

~10:40 – Adding a new client and trainers

~11:30 – Configuring workout templates, adding exercises, and integrating with YouTube

~25:00 – Creating and saving an entire training plan to template for clients and individualize

~32:00 – Building the client calender and all the graphing and tracking tools included

~38:00 – How to optimize your free website for search engines

~47:00 – Q & A starts

Did Sharad not answer your question? Not a problem. Ask it below in the comments and we’ll make sure somebody from Trainerize gets to it right away.

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Spine and Core Training: From Rehab to Juggernaut

Jonathan — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:43:36 +0000

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This webinar was presented live by Dean Somerset for PTDC.com Inner Circle Members on Feb 14, 2013.

Spine and Core Training

Instead of getting your clients to perform exercises that do something for the core, why not train them to demand more from their core? Simple techniques and corrections can be used from everyone from the elite athlete to the chronic low back pain sufferer, even to the spinal surgery patient, while producing strength, stability, and power through the entire continuum.

This webinar will show you:

The only 4 exercises any core training program will ever need, REGARDLESS of the goal
How to assess where to start with any clients’ core training program
Why hip complex training is the second most important part of any low back and core program
When and how to integrate core training without sacrificing strength or explosive power

To access the webinar and download the handout, please be sure you are logged in and are a member of the Inner Circle program. If you are currently logged in, you will see the video below. If not, please log in below and then scroll down to the “webinar archives” section to find this post. If you are not a member, learn more and subscribe to thePTDC.com Inner Circle program.

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Be the Man You Would Want Your Sister to Train With

Jonathan — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:37:51 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Chad Landers

[Enter Chad]

The virtues of weight training for women are already well known. There’s no need to write yet another article outlining the benefits and reasons why women should lift.

The problem is that, while the reasons for women lifting weights are well established and impossible to debate against, they’re still not widely accepted.

Over the last two decades, I’ve trained hundreds of women and I’m going to give you my secrets to success with this population. It has as much do to with how you treat a woman as it does the actual workout!

A Male Dominated Industry

I’ve been training since the late 1980s. It has been my experience that personal trainers have predominantly been men, and clients have mostly been women. I wish I could find more qualified female trainers but inevitably the ones who come to me for mentoring are mostly men.

It’s critical that men understand how to relate to women – this is more important than program design.

My youngest female client just turned 16 (I’ve trained her since she was 13) and my oldest female client just turned 93. And the day after Christmas, my longest tenured female client (over 18 years together) turns 70!

Needless to say I’ve had many years of experience with female clients and across a broad age range. And from housewives to actresses, students to retirees there is one common need they all share…the need to feel SAFE with their trainer.

Walk Like A Man

Before I dive into this, I want to acknowledge the incredible strides that women in fitness have made in recent years.

Women like Ronda Rousey, the first female UFC fighter; Ali McWeeney, a single leg amputee powerlifter and PTDC coach Neghar Fonooni inspire both men and women on a daily basis.

My own client list is full of very successful women from television, film and industry.

I worry that we, as trainers, become accustomed to the small sub-section of society that we’re used to seeing. Strong, dynamic females that we tend to come into contact with at the gym are not the majority. Unfortunately, the vast populations of women are still intimidated by the gym.

Make no mistake this is the MAJORITY of the population. Most women don’t lift weights and it’s these women who are a huge source of untapped revenue for the trainer. We need to make them feel safe to come to the gym and train.

The physical safety of the client is the most important thing at my gym (“First, do no harm” should be every trainer’s mantra, but that’s NOT the type of safety I’m talking about when working with women.

Next to her father, a brother or a husband, a male personal trainer, is perhaps, the biggest male influence in a woman’s life.

A woman needs to be able to confide all kinds of things to her trainer…things that may well be impeding her from achieving her fitness goals.

She needs to trust that when she talks to you about an eating binge that you’re not going to berate her into an eating disorder.
She needs to know that you are listening to her and care about her and won’t patronize her if she asks the same question for the 100^th time! (No, lifting weights won’t make you bulky!)
And for god’s sake she needs know that you aren’t going to be hitting on her when you’re supposed to be her friend and confidante.

And consider one of the biggest reasons a woman hires a trainer in the first place: she is unhappy with her body. This is a personal issue and can make anyone feel vulnerable.

It takes a great deal of courage for many women to set foot in a gym, let alone trust a fit male personal trainer to be sensitive to both her insecurities AND her desire to get in shape.

And you also must remember, one of the reasons she hired you is to be a buffer between her and the general public that she feels may be staring at her and ridiculing her for even coming to the gym.

When I used to work in the commercial gym setting, I once had a female client who came to me weighing around 300 lbs. She was intimidated by coming to a Gold’s Gym to train and was teetering on the edge of relapse into inactivity.

I spent nearly an hour talking with her near the front desk of the gym before I could even get her to venture past the turnstile. (Actually, she couldn’t even fit through the turnstile and had to go around…talk about intimidating!)

But the time I spent making her feel safe and secure in that crazy atmosphere paid huge dividends. She lost over 100 lbs, met the man of her dreams, and now they have a beautiful 7 year-old son.

Imagine how different her story might have turned out if I hadn’t taken the time to listen to her fears and to make her feel safe.

Creating An Empowering Environment

I’ve been very fortunate over the last 10 years to have my own private, personal training studio in Los Angeles. Because of this, I’ve been able to create the safe, empowering environment I’m talking about.

Nothing makes my blood boil more than when men in the gym start critiquing other women in the presence of female clients (or even female trainers). It’s rude and I’ve had to dismiss trainers and clients who took this kind of thing too far.

Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the female client’s trainer doing the talking, but ANY male at the gym.

Making overtly sexual conversation or drooling over some “hot chick” at the gym, or commenting on how an overweight woman walking by the gym “could sure use personal training” is a sure-fire way to lose a female client’s respect.

Lose her respect, lose her as a client, it’s that simple!

And as a gym owner, I don’t want any client OR trainer to feel uncomfortable or intimidated. And I certainly don’t want someone’s careless comments to make me lose business. (I’ll kick out a rude client just as quickly as an inconsiderate trainer.)

Many women, who may have barely mustered up the courage to come to the gym in the first place, are not going to speak up if men in the gym are hitting on them or making rude or sexist comments.

Her options are to keep quiet, to try to play it off and join in, or to speak up and risk being seen as a “prude”.

Don’t make her make that choice.

And if other males nearby are clearly out of line and making things uncomfortable for your client, have the stones to tell them to knock it off.

I’m not talking about the innocent, fun, almost flirty banter that is a part of the male/female dynamic everywhere. That’s healthy, and it may even be part of what keeps the client interested during the drudgery of training.

But if talk in the gym goes from fun and flirty to sexist and intimidating, you owe it to yourself, your co-workers and your clients to step in and fix the situation.

And I can promise you that at the end of the day even strong women like Rhonda Rousey and Neghar Fonooni still want to be treated with respect and not lumped in with the guys just because they train hard.

Chivalry Is Not Dead

Today’s young trainers are light years ahead of where I was in the late ‘80’s. Evidence-based programming has become the standard and trainers everywhere have the potential to impact more lives and make more money than ever before.

Even the best programming will only be successful if you can get the clients into the gym and keep them coming back for more.

So when it comes to male trainers working with female clients, be the man you’d want your sister or your girlfriend to train with.

Be the man you’d want your sister or your girlfriend to train with. - CLICK TO TWEET

Listen to your female clients and treat them with respect. Allow them to feel comfortable and safe. Then they can trust you, and only then can your programs change their lives!

Don’t be just another trainer. Be a man of honor and integrity. Be a man that encourages and empowers his clients…especially his female clients.

Chad Landers is a 1991 graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. Chad is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Most recently, Chad became the first (and at the time, only) American to graduate with a Diploma in Sports Nutrition with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Chad has owned a personal training business in Los Angeles since 1993. In 2003, he opened PUSH Private Fitness, a 2400 sq.ft. personal training only gym. He currently competes in Masters Raw Powerlifting competitions. Chad lives in Studio City, CA and is married to Oscar-winning Supervising Sound Editor Karen Baker Landers.

=========================================

[Jon again]

PTDC Coach Dean Somerset has also put his top-notch product Post-Rehab Essentials on a big sale for Boxing day.

Check it out here==> www.theptdc.com/postrehab

I particularly loved this product for two reasons:

It gives some of the best information on how to deal with different types of injuries (or more particular the client after they have rehabbed an injury).
There’s great advice for getting referrals from doctors, chiro’s, athletic therapists etc.

So it’ll teach you both how to do a better job and make more money. Highly recommended.

Get it here==> www.theptdc.com/postrehab

P.S. It’s also pre-approved for CEU’s

Further Reading:

From 1879 to Today, Nothing has Changed – Chad Landers

Gym Before Work? 10 Habits That Help a Busy Mom Cope With Training, Coaching, and Life – Neghar Fonooni

Teach Your Female Personal Training Clients to Train Like Men – Neghar Fonooni

Personal Training Post Pregnancy Clients: Top 5 Things to Know – Dr. Cassandra Forsythe

photo credit: wwward0

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8 Must Know Tips for Personal Training Women (Part 1)

Jonathan — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:33:39 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Elsbeth Vaino.

You’re losing clients if you’re making these amateur mistakes training women. In a two part series, Elsbeth goes over 8 over-looked tips on training women that will earn you respect among your female clients.

[Enter Elsbeth]

While most of us have 2 arms, 2 legs, and a core, there are differences between the sexes that deserve some attention in the gym. This is part 1 of the article and covers the first 4 things you need to know. Part 2 will follow shortly, plus a bonus tip.

1. Sometimes we forget our sports bra.

When that happens, ladder drills and plyometrics fall somewhere between embarrassing and painful. If your client tells you she forgot her sports bra, it’s best if you skip the plyos and ladder drills that day. If she doesn’t say anything but you see her doing the drill squeezing her breasts against her body with her forearms, then help a girl out and tell her that she can skip that drill today.

2. Be mindful of where she is positioned when doing lifts like deadlifts.

If you have a client who’s a bit overweight and self-conscious about the size of her butt, then don’t ask her to do deadlifts in a spot where she is sticking her butt out for all to look at. One of two things will happen:

- She’ll do a crappy deadlift because she’ll do everything possible to minimize how much her butt is sticking out.

- She’ll abide but decide she doesn’t like deadlifts. This may lead to not liking training with you.

Instead, set the bar up so that she’s facing the gym so that she can execute a great deadlift without being self-conscious.

I believe contributing to someone disliking deadlifts is a sin. Don’t do it!

3. PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome) is a real thing.

Seriously. Symptoms vary enormously from person to person and throughout the period. For some, it’s just a nuisance, for others, it involves bloating, low back pain, cramps, food cravings, and moodiness. Not fun. As it turns out exercise often alleviates the symptoms, so getting the workout in can really improve someone’s day when they are experiencing PMS symptoms.

This doesn’t mean the symptoms are in our heads. It isn’t. It’s in the uterus. Really.

If your client will actually tell you they are PMS’ing, then please respond appropriately. A little compassion goes a long way, whereas downplaying it or suggesting it’s in their heads will go a really long way toward them not trusting you. When my clients tell me they are PMS’ing, I tell them that we will plan to take it a bit easy this workout but we’ll see how they feel as they progress.

Often they feel pretty good within about 10 minutes, so there’s no need to take it easy. But by offering to ease up, they have faith that you listen and that you understand what they’re going through. There are some periods where the notion of getting to the gym is just unfathomable. Understand that the very fact that they showed up is huge. Don’t ruin that!

If they haven’t said anything, and odds are they won’t. Especially if you’re a guy, then keep an eye out. If they’re not the lazy type, but are really dogging it one day or complain about not feeling great, then respond as above, and take a note for their file. Most of us get our period every 28 days, so mark down the general crappy-feeling days on your calendar, and you may quickly see a pattern.

4. Every body is different

This one seems obvious, but you may not have considered all of the implications.

- Height. Some of your women clients are probably, um, less than tall. This requires some adjustments in the gym. If your 5’2″ client is bench pressing, consider giving her a step to put under her feet. Getting her to keep her feet on the floor will require an excessive back arch which may be very uncomfortable and even lead to back pain. Feet on the bench is also not a great option, as it means she’ll lose that extra force you get by driving the feet through the floor.

Training tip: Put a box under your shorter female clients feet when pressing to allow for greater hip drive. Click to Tweet.

- Machine dimensions. Similarly, if you use machines with your clients, then keep in mind some of them may be suboptimal for anyone who is not 6’0″. This even applies to many seated upper body exercises, where the arm span or torso length, or shoulder span may actually put a shorter client at risk.

- Hand size. Small hands can make holding free weights much more difficult. If your client has very small hands, then grip will likely become the limiting factor in their deadlift. I’m not suggesting we ignore grip strength – it is important.But let’s understand that a deadlift with a regular bar for your 5’0″ client is similar to a deadlift with Fat Gripz for you 5’9″ client.

Would you have your 5’9″ client do all of their deadlifting with Fat Gripz? If the answer is no, then give your 5’0″ client a level playing field. One of the best purchases I made at Custom Strength was a 5kg olympic bar. It has a much smaller grip than a standard bar, meaning my smaller-handed clients can get “enjoy” a proportional deadlift experience. Straps are also a great option.

- Hip size. I love barbell glute bridges (thanks to Bret Contreras for introducing me to it). It’s a great way to really strengthen the glutes, which tend to be the weak link for many. But I won’t use this exercise with any client who is bigger than me in the legs, hips or stomach.

The barbell glute bridge setup involves basically rolling the bar over your legs. It’s about 7.5″ off the ground, courtesy of the plates on either side. If any part of your clients lower body is wider than 7.5″, this becomes an awkward and embarrassing exercise. On the opposite end of the spectrum, clients with extremely low body fat may find the bar placement to be uncomfortable. Keep an eye out for this.

- Breast size. For women with large breasts, single arm dumbbell (DB) rows and DB bench press may be awkward, and their breasts may actually limit their functional ROM (range of motion). For rows, consider using kettlebells (KB) instead. I don’t have a great alternative suggestion for bench press (if you do, please share in the comments below!), and so just keep in mind that they are getting a smaller range of motion out of this exercise.This may lead you to limit the use of this exercise in favour of others (one arm cable press).

Similarly, a KB swing may also be problematic for these women. Moving to a one arm KB swing, or using a towel to hold the KB are options.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Keep an eye on plyometrics with large-breasted clients as well. Many women with large breasts will wear two sports bras to keep the girls from bouncing too much. In some cases, this is still insufficient for some drills. As with the first point above about plyos when clients forget their sports bra, for large-breasted women, some plyos may not be a good option even if they remembered.

For part 2 click here.

Elsbeth is one of the awesome presenters for thePTDC “Becoming the Expert” seminar happening in October. For more information and to sign up click here.

Elsbeth Vaino is a Strength and Conditioning Specialist in Ottawa with the goal of helping people live better and play better through better movement. Learn more about her at her blog. Also, add her on facebook.

photo credits: Amber Karnes Benicio Murray

If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

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DON’T push your clients: Rest-based personal training

Jonathan — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:44:19 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Jill Coleman.

Personal trainers cringe at shows like the biggest loser and military style trainers who drive their clients to the ground. While motivation is necessary, Jill offers an intelligent alternative to the push and shove method.

[Enter Jill]

“You have one more in you!”

“Don’t stop, don’t give up, keep going!!”

Clients are NOT motivated by pushing.

Enter Rest-based Training (RBT). It’s a training principle developed by Jade and Keoni Teta, ND CSCS of Metabolic Effect.

It’s the opposite of boot camp-style, militant training techniques where trainers tell clients.

It’s the opposite of ‘The Biggest Loser,’ where celebrity trainers get in the face of obese clients and yell, scream and tear them down in an attempt to “inspire” them into health. (Editors note: The Biggest Loser isn’t what you think it is. Read this article to see what really happens on the show)

What is RBT?

Rest-based Training is a coaching technique that uses positive affirmation to motivate clients, but not in a rah-rah sort of way.

Instead, RBT offers clients autonomy in their workouts by allowing them to rest whenever they need — the client decides when and for how long they rest.

Instead of using structured rest periods, the trainer says, “Push hard, but rest whenever you need it.”

This is an important message because:

1) When people are given control, they feel safe to push themselves.

Instead of the trainer dictating their effort, they take full control of it and are assured that they can rest whenever, if gets to be too much. You’d think clients work less hard, but actually the opposite is true. Clients push harder when they are in control of their rest.

2) This boosts intensity. If I told you to go sprint as hard as you could for 5 miles, what would you do? You’d pace, of course. What if I asked you to sprint as hard as you could for 50 meters? You’d push a lot harder because you can see the rest; it’s in sight.

This is an important motivational technique for trainers. This is why we don’t tell clients when there’s still 50 minutes left in a 60-minute session and we don’t count down from 60 seconds. We count down for 10 seconds, for example. When clients know they can rest any time, they push harder. Always.

3) The more someone rests, the harder they can push. We think that intensity drives rest, but it’s actually the other way around. Rest drives effort. If a client rests, they are more likely to push harder on the next round.

This is why we don’t tell our clients to sprint 100 meters and then tell them to immediately sprint another 100 meters. We want them to rest sufficiently in order to be able to push at the same high intensity again. Rest comes first, then effort.

Don’t storm trooper your clients

The Psychology of Rest

RBT is based on motivational psychology and how people respond to different situations. Clients feel discouraged when trainers employ pushing strategies. Only a small portion of clients like to be told they can do better or that they are not working hard enough. Clients respond to positive affirmation, and do more of what gets affirmed.

“Push until you can’t, rest until you can.” –Metabolic Effect

A Safer Workout

Because clients are in control of their rest period, this is one of the safest techniques out there. The client knows their exertion way better than a trainer ever could. Giving the control over to them makes the workout incredibly safe, even though their effort may be more. It’s the trainer’s job to help the client understand their body and navigate their rest by encouraging them to rest, frequently.

In Rest-based Training, we employ the following 4 motivational techniques:

Rest: We actually encourage our clients to rest, whenever they need it, whether it’s between sets, between reps or between circuits. They can rest at rep #4 of 12. When they rest, we congratulate it by saying, “That’s the way to rest! Great job! Get back into it when you’re ready.” They rest for as long as they need to and get back in to finish reps 5 through 12. This subtle feedback enhances their intensity overtime. Guaranteed.

Extrinsic motivation: We use motivational techniques like changing up the exercise, tempo changes, range of motion changes, etc, as well as constant banter to get our clients to focus outside, on what they are doing, rather than inside, on what they are feeling (pain, burning, etc). This subtly gets them to push harder.

Self-determined: The frequency and duration of rest is 100% determined by the client. We don’t do this to be nice or to make the workout easier—we do this to push intensity. When they have control over their rest, they innately push harder.

When they rest, we congratulate it, and then further affirm the intensity that got them to the point of resting by saying, “That’s the way to push out those reps! That’s the way to stay heavy!” And then we tell them to get back into the workout when they’re ready. Even if they rest for a longer time than we deem is necessary, they will learn over time how to regulate their exertion and their rests.

Time-sensitive: Because there is no structured rest given, these workouts tend to be shorter. And also because the intensity is greater with this way of training, 20-30 minutes is usually the max length. This approach is ideal for a fat loss/metabolic-type workout. For other goals like strength or power, more rest is warranted, but for the 90% of clients who want body change, RBT works beautifully.

See RBT in action!

Want to learn more about how to use Rest-Based Training and Metabolic Effect in your own workouts and with your clients? Find out more here!

Questions? Contact Jill Coleman!

Have you ever let a client determine their own rest? What do you notice and would you implement this method of training?

Also, be sure to “like” thePTDC’s Facebook page and check out what we’re all about.

photo credits: ✪nebcat✪ , bobsfever

If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

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Do You Love Personal Training?

Jonathan — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 07:16:59 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Elsbeth Vaino. Personal training is the best job in the world, Elsbeth tells us why. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

I realized this summer that I smile on my way to and from work almost every day. I absolutely love virtually every aspect of being a trainer, and so when I think of this career, I think of the great satisfaction I get from going to work everyday. Here are a few of them:

1. Satisfaction is…spending most of my day walking, standing, bending, and lifting instead of sitting.

2. Satisfaction is…knowing that I get paid to spend my day talking with interesting people.

3. Satisfaction is…working in a field that I love so much, that I sit in the front row at conferences and ask questions because learning excites me. Satisfaction is chuckling to myself thinking that university me would keener bingo current me.

4. Satisfaction is…realizing how easy it is to excel in my field because so many of my peers do not put in the time and effort to be great.

5. Satisfaction is…having a client tell me that, since training with me, their back doesn’t hurt for the first time in years.

6. Satisfaction is…having a client tell me they think the reason they managed to only sprain their toe from a fall on the stairs (toy on the step) is because the training she has done with me made her strong enough to right herself to avoid a full on Homer Simpson tumble to the bottom.

7. Satisfaction is…a client telling me that he had to adjust his golf club selection since training with me because he can now hit a 7 iron the distance he used to get from a 5 iron.

8. Satisfaction is…being the trainer that massage therapists, chiropractors, and physiotherapists send clients to because they know I will help their clients get strong and fit without getting hurt.

9. Satisfaction is…seeing more and more of my friends come to train with me because they see how well those who already train with me are doing. Extreme satisfaction is watching these friends increase their energy levels, lose weight, have less joint pain, and improve their sports performance.

10. Satisfaction is…watching clients smiling, chatting, and having fun while they work out at my gym.

11. Satisfaction is…watching the smile on my client’s face after they accomplish something they never thought they’d be able to do.

Like a pullup. Or a set of 10 proper pushups from the floor. Or jump up onto a ridiculously tall box. Or hit a new personal best deadlift. Or break the 60 second mark in a plank.

12. Satisfaction is…not spending 40 hours each week in a cubicle within a maze of cubicles; with no sense of what time of day it is or what the weather is like because you haven’t seen daylight since 8am this morning; unable to accomplish anything because:

- the person on the other side of one cubicle wall is talking loudly on the phone about the upcoming weekend.
- Someone in another cubicle is clipping their nails (Seriously – I’m not making this up).
- Another colleague has decided they need to talk to you so they just waltz in and hover over you, leaving no escape.
- You just returned from a 2 hour meeting and you have 2 more meetings today. None of them have any conceivable purpose.
- Your boss doesn’t know how to delegate so you literally have nothing to do, but must sit there looking busy (this may sound blissful, but trust me, it is horrible).
- Your boss hasn’t communicated clearly what it is you are supposed to do.
- You don’t have the resources to accomplish what you are supposed to do.

In other words, satisfaction is realizing that Dilbert and Office Space are pretty accurate portrayals of the job environment most people have to endure, but thankfully it no longer applies to me.

13. Satisfaction is…not counting down the hours and days until retirement when it is more than a decade away.

14. Satisfaction is…having a link between my job performance and my income.

15. Satisfaction is…knowing that I helped somebody today. Probably more than one person. Real people. With names. And real needs.

Special bonus:
Satisfaction is…no longer wearing golden handcuffs. For those of you who know what I’m talking about with this one, I’m going to let you in on a very important secret: The golden handcuffs aren’t locked! All you have to do to take them off is open them.

Why is personal training so satisfying? What points do you think are missing? Comment below!

Also, be sure to “like” thePTDC’s Facebook page and check out what we’re all about.

photo credit: Edson Hong, Vectorportal

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Top Personal Trainers Understand the Pivot Point

Jonathan — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 01:43:52 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Carolyn Appel. Every trainer is in the profession of changing lives through changing behaviour. Carolyn gives us some of her own personal strategies when dealing with “stuck” clients. If you're interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

I recently had a client thank me. It wasn’t gratitude for something I had said, but rather for what I had not. Knowing that Donald hadn’t exercised in between our weekly sessions (for months), I chose not to say anything about it.

Any comment from me would have only added to the disappointment he felt in himself for being negligent. And guilt certainly isn’t the foundation upon which lasting behavior changes are made.

Therefore, I stay silent about Don’s failings and speak up about the good progress he’s made during our sessions.

Naturally, it can be frustrating when he doesn’t hold up his end. I often feel that I want him to do better than he wants it for himself. I also realize that, as his trainer, I have an obligation to nudge and encourage Don to change the lifestyle that led him to call me initially.

That phone call was his first step towards changing his habits but that doesn’t mean that he was ready to make all of the other necessary adjustments right away. Patience is key, for both of us, so that he can slowly absorb my teachings and take action to reprioritize his behaviors.

Often, a catalytic event will cause someone to wake up from their years-long coma of being hyper-caffeinated, undernourished, overstressed and physically-deteriorated. It may be that the “fat” pants no longer fit or perhaps it’s the disgust that it only takes an incomprehensibly small act of exertion to get out of breath, to jar a sleeping soul into action.

Whatever the reason, people arrive at their pivotal moments on their own.

In my experience, no amount of begging from the wife or nagging from the doctor will cause a person to change. It has to come from them.

And it usually requires a person to hit a low point, as difficult as that may be to watch from the outside. Especially as a health professional, who knows about the long-term repercussions of bodily neglect and abuse, I have to battle impatience while waiting for a client to reach this point. It may take him weeks, months, and sometimes years while I am working with him to make a change.

Trainers get into this profession to help people. We are a caring group who wants our clients to look, feel, and function better. Our way of showing that caring can sometimes border on overbearing by airing our frustrations to the clients about what they aren’t doing.

Of course we know that training once or twice will not erase the damage and neglect that takes place the rest of the week. However, I feel that for my chronically-negligent clients (there are a few), harping on what they aren’t doing has the potential to erode their confidence and trust in me, ultimately weakening my long-term influence on them.

If clients, like Donald, aren’t moved to action by my weekly reminders then I change my strategy and back off. This removes any negative feelings of guilt while allowing him to realize that, although we are in this training process together, the onus is truly on him to make the change. All I can do is be there to guide him with information and encouragement [if and] when he reaches that pivot point.

Here are some ways to help your “stuck” clients make changes:

Ask Questions

Finding out what barriers they perceive to be preventing them from making the change. This can go a long way towards helping both of you understand the client’s stagnation. In a non-judgmental way, and with a genuine effort to understand their struggles, try asking the following open-ended questions:

- What prevents you from getting to the gym more often?
- What do you think would help you get to the gym? Change your eating habits?

Decisional Balance chart

Another great tool to have your clients fill out on their own to think more deeply about the benefits and costs of making a change and to identify the reasons why they haven’t yet made the change. Keep in mind that this chart can be used for any behavior, not just a health-related one.

1. Identify what behavior the person wants to change.
2. Fill out the chart honestly to determine what the benefits are of changing and what specific reasons are preventing the change from being made.

Some follow-up questions that may help direct your clients’ thinking about making a desired change:

- How long have you been contemplating this change?
- What is the primary reason you haven’t made the change yet?
- Do the benefits of making a change outweigh the benefits of not making a change?
- What opportunities can you see for personal development by making this behavior change?
- What steps will you take to put into action the desired change?

Reminders

The more repeated exposure your clients have to the desired behavior the greater the probability that they will actually make a change.

You may find yourself repeating the same mantra during your sessions: “Do your cardio,” “Don't forget to stretch,” “Stop eating pizza.” I also send email reminders and occasionally leave voice messages to reinforce what we discuss during our sessions.

Show positive examples

When the Olympic trials were on I called a client who, a former gymnast, was just getting back into training. She saw the magnificent athleticism and strength of those women and it inspired her to push harder during our sessions and on her own.

As a trainer you are constantly being viewed as an example of superior physical health, whether you like it or not. Clients look to you to epitomize many of the qualities they are training to achieve.

Carry yourself with positive energy and poise—embodying good physical health—because the association with you will help clients move in that direction.

Be an example for your clients.

The fact that they hired you reflects their desire for help because they recognized that they can’t do it alone. Be patient. BE VERY PATIENT.

Keep on Movin’

-CA

Got any strategies you'd like to share for “stuck” clients? What are your go-to strategies for client behaviour change? Comment below.

Also, be sure to “like” thePTDC's Facebook page and check out what we're all about.

CAROLYN APPEL received her Master's degree in Motor Learning and Control from Teachers College, Columbia University and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA. With a background in competitive, collegiate-level tennis, Ms. Appel has built a career on her passion for fitness, athletics, and skill development. She has worked in the fitness industry for the last decade and has written articles for numerous publications including Muscle and Fitness, Allure Magazine, and on her blog at www.carolynappel.com
photo credit: Kalense Kid, Vector Hugo, targophoto.com

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5 Personal Training Tips You Wont Find in Books

Jonathan — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:08:38 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Charlie Reid. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

I’m a huge geek for fitness. My fitness library is exhausting and I always have a new book in my hand to read between clients. Being that we are in the information age, I see a common trend in personal training towards buying books, ebooks, reading blogs, and hangin out on web forums for fitness knowledge.

I’m certainly guilty of this. However, I’ve also realized that what makes us the best in our field is in-the-trenches experience applying this knowledge. This isn’t to say that information isn’t important, however, it’s not the sword that makes the warrior, it’s the skill in which he wields it.

There can only be one fitness highlander…

1) The importance of Cooperative Care

In the words of John Donne, “no man is an island“. It’s easy to let our egos get in the way in regards to wanting to help your clients out, however, I quickly realized that having a good network of health practitioners to support the goals of each client not only reduces stress for both parties, but helps them get better FASTER!

Things happen much faster when complimentary services are provided. Case in point: if you have an older gentleman who wishes to start exercising but is locked up like a rusty Mexican burrito truck, I’d rather send him out for a month of soft tissue work to help the movement work we are doing in the gym be much more productive.

Having a good manual therapist (or many, because the good ones are busy!), physical therapists, acupuncturists, and movement therapists are great assets to my health and fitness army. New practitioners in my area are always on my radar and if I hear about a good one, I’m quick to drop them a line.

[editors note: For a thorough overview on interprofessional collaboration check out "Personal Trainer Career Series: Inter-Professional Collaboration]

2) Behavioral Change Coaching

After attending the Long Beach Perform Better Summit in 2011, I had the privilege to watch John Berardi speak about his Precision Nutrition program and what struck me, and most of us attending, is that (exceptional) personal training is about making lasting behavioral change.

Frustration, stagnation, and burnout are often blossoms from the seeds of poor planning and logical implementations on the part of both the trainer and client. Trainers get frustrated when clients don’t adhere to the program, but whose fault is that? The trainer.

Yes, the client should be a part of the process, but it’s the trainer’s job to find a solution that can be manageable by that person at that time. You can have a perfect workout routine and diet plan, but if you can’t follow it, then it ain’t that great.

The art of coaching lies in finding the balance between encouraging client autonomy and ownership of their goals, as well as diligent problem solving on the part of the trainer to establish manageable progressions for the client.

Find that sweet spot where they can succeed yet still be challenged, and you’ll never lose them.

3) All Battles Cannot Be Won (Right now)

Rare is the client that comes into a personal training environment with specific goals in mind. Often, they unveil a laundry list of needs/wants/desires that spew into the lap of the trainer like that girl from the exorcist spewing pea soup as her head spins 360 degrees.

Unfortunately, as I am a people-pleaser, I try and accommodate all those needs/wants/desires into one program, only to come up short on all of them. As the old saying goes, when you try for everything you usually get nothing.

I’m not saying that you can’t train for multiple goals at one time, however, it should be stated that the more stuff you add to the pot, the more probability for lackluster results in each.

For example, if you want to gain muscle mass but also want to decrease your bodyfat, you may have a harder time getting either. It’s not impossible, but those that have been successful gaining muscle have to train with higher volumes, recover accordingly, and eat a surplus of calories. This isn’t the same recipe for those that want to lose weight.

Even the Exorcist girl can change, right?

4) Being OK as the middle child

This is perhaps a silly metaphor, but I see personal training as being sandwiched between the Physical therapy world and the Strength and Conditioning world.

In fact, personal trainers get a lot of their information and research from these two communities. However, these two communities often tend to make recommendations to personal trainers as if they know better than the trainers do and it’s unfortunately unfounded much of the time.

I appreciate the important contributions and mentorship that I have received over the years from both of these communities and acknowledge how important they are. However, these siblings of health and fitness often times have never worked in Personal training and do not understand the nuances of the personal training environment.

For example, if a strength and conditioning coach writes that general population folks need more heavy lifting, I’m usually all for it, however, a lot of clients are a long ways off from heavy deadlifting. Some good S&C coaches are aware of this, however, the message often gets misinterpreted as other trainers try and get grandma to start pulling heavy singles in the deadlift when it just ain’t appropriate.

Or the physical therapist playing on the safe side trying to avoid squatting below parallel for fear that it will blow someone’s knees out. Instead, context needs to be provided as to what a good squat should look like ass-to-grass, and/or if pain is present at any point during the movement. If so, then absolutely nix it and refer out. Or, at the very least, keep asking why.

I’m thankful for the wisdom handed down to me from these two camps, but all things being considered, I’ll do my job and they’ll do theirs. In a perfect world, promoting synergy and understanding between all three camps makes for dynamite changes in a person’s life.

5) Fitness is one thing, Movement is another

Many folks coming into training look to fitness to solve more than just its stated intention: to get stronger, improve stamina, manage weight, etc. In our modern age, with increased sitting and sedentary lifestyles, most personal training clients come in with a menagerie of aches and pains that they are hoping will clear up with exercise.

This may or may not be true, but there is also a whole world of movement (or lack thereof) outside of the gym that needs to be paid a good deal of attention. For example, someone that has lower back discomfort may or may not see relief from basic pelvic and core stabilization work.

This is likely only one piece of the entire movement equation. I do believe that ultimately, for most people, movement is the solution for the majority of musculoskeletal pain issues; however fitness is only a small slice of the pie.

Especially if exercise is only done for 1-3 hours a week, the cumulative effective of poor movement habits, posture, and breathing are much more important to making long term change. What would be a more sustainable strategy for most is to learn how to carry themselves outside of the gym to maintain a healthy body, free from chronic aches and pains.

It’s my goal to not only educate the client on how to move properly in the gym, but to also encourage them to move better OUTSIDE – How to walk, stand, sit, go up and down stairs, etc.

And if it’s beyond my reach, there are plenty of great movement therapists in my area that can assist (See: Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, Anat Baniel Method, Etc.). Fitness in the gym is about expending energy and getting stronger, but this should also be coupled with relaxed and efficient movement outside of the gym.

This is often overlooked as one tries to use gym strategies outside of the gym. This means you shouldn’t be squeezing the crap out of your abdominals when you walk! Work hard, but learn to relax and move efficiently, as well.

Ballet is strong AND efficient. Gym movement should encompass both efficiency and effort.

While books give us information, they don’t give us experience. What are somethings that you’ve learned in the trenches that you can’t learn from books? Also, be sure to “like” thePTDC’s Facebook page and check out what we’re all about.

Charlie Reid is a Personal Trainer based out of San Francisco, CA. In addition to his private personal training business, he is a freelance writer and consultant to local businesses in the health and fitness arena. He holds certifications through the NSCA, ACSM, and IYCA, although his proudest accomplishments are his in-the-trenches experience and devotion to finding real-world health and fitness solutions for everyday folks, corporate athletes, and weekend warriors. Charlie’s website and blog can be found at www.reidhealthsolutions.com

Don’t forget. Ignite the Fire is still on sale until 11.59pm Friday July 27th for $9.99 or 57% off and is very different than most personal training books. This is your best chance to pick the book up for a friend, the trainers at your club, or yourself. Go to: https://www.createspace.com/3759002 and enter in discount code RHSADRNH at checkout.

photo credit: boltron-, Jenn and Tony Bot, Tassike.ee – Marju Randmer, Darwin Bell

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How a Personal Training Ninja Trains Dancers

Jonathan — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:00:21 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Mark Fisher. Mark is a personal trainer from Manhattan who trains with dancers. He lets us know how he successfully trains this population with their unique needs. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

Being located in midtown Manhattan, Mark Fisher Fitness is the premier training hub for Broadway’s most accomplished dancers. We take a lot of pride in applying the most progressive training protocols to a population that doesn’t generally get a lot of attention from the fitness world.

Let’s face it, most trainers are far more interested in MMA than ABT (… google it).

As fitness pros, it’s an honor to work with people who’ve dedicated their lives to reaching personal peaks of artistry through movement. And although dancers display some of the most awe-inspiring athleticism you’ll ever see, they do carry special considerations.

So if you’re not particularly familiar with the world of jazz hands, this article should give you a handle on how to work with dancers.

1. Mobility

Most folks know dancers are flexible. And generally speaking this is true, but you’d be surprised how often dancers are getting their range of motion from less-than-ideal places. Like the general population, dancer ankles and hip flexors are often super tight. And even more so than those chained to a desk all day, they often develop excessive mobility in less than ideal places.

For instance, tight hips often lead to too much movement at the lumbar spine in order for dancers to create more range of motion. Anyone familiar with the Joint By Joint theory or the work of Dr. Stuart McGill knows this is a bad scene.

Pretty sure most folks would rip in two if they tried this.

Be wary of assuming they’ll have good mobility just because they’re dancers. Since the best performers are often the best compensators, many elite dancers are able to create some beautiful aesthetic qualities on a base of a dysfunctional movement foundation. Be sure to look at their mobility with a discerning eye and do some baseline assessments or screening, like the FMS. If necessary hammer soft tissue work, correctives, and mobility exercises.

2. Stability

Most dancers think more movement is inherently better. It’s not uncommon for a dancer to come in and lament their lack of flexibility, then display 135 degrees of hip flexion. And while more mobility CAN be useful for them, if they’re writing checks with their mobility that they’re stability bank can’t cash… they’re going to run into problems. Even if they avoid injury, they won’t be able to fully realize their potential as artists.

This is obviously relates to the point above, but make sure they have ample core and 1 leg stability. Powerlifters know “you can’t shoot a canon out of a canoe,” but dancers don’t always appreciate how much their core stability will limit their ability to be graceful while jumping or maximize their height.

Furthermore, it’s difficult to nail multiple turns (or “pirouettes”) if there’s compromised hip stability. It’s also worth noting since turning is a one leg activity, a highly functioning lateral subsystem is going to be key here, so don’t neglect true single leg work. In other words, split squats are useful as a regression or to build the foundation, but be sure to progress to exercises like box step-ups to balance.

3. Landing Mechanics

In the strength and conditioning world at large, there are often passionate debates as to the appropriate amount of jumping for athletes. Excessive plyometrics can represent a skewed risk to benefit ratio for many coaches.

Unfortunately, since most forms of dancing require ample amounts of jumping, dancers don’t have the luxury of limiting their jumping volume. Therefore it’s super important to make sure their landing mechanics are spot on. Much like in a game, dancers can’t afford to think about their technique while performing or auditioning, so it’s important for their training to hammer in good mechanics.

Certainly addressing mobility and stability as described above will go a long way towards cleaning things up. Even so, taking some dedicated time to work out on the fine points of landing mechanics is a great idea.

Many elite dancers will be adept at using their foot musculature to decelerate upon impact, but make sure females in particular cultivate the ability to landing without their knees caving in.

Progression is key here: if they’re unable to stabilize in a less dynamic environment, regress as appropriate until they’re ready to handle the increased demands of jumping.

4. Nutrition

Mark Fishcer Fitness’ specialty is “health and hotness”; we strive to make our clients bulletproof, but we’re often hired so they feel better about spending a lot of their day in leotards or booty shorts or the occasional cat suit.

Just another day at the office for storm troopers

Since it’s difficult to out train the diet, it’s important to educate dancers seeking physique goals that their nutritional intake will be a big part of their success. This is critical in dancers, as they tend to already be very active.

Executive Joe can come in and see some nice body composition changes just by taking up training, but this isn’t gonna be the case with someone who uses their body for a living.

Like the general population, dancers often mistakenly believe they can just add a bunch of weight training and/ or cardio and make profound changes in their physique.

If necessary, refer out to a qualified nutritionist, but at the least make sure you’re setting the proper expectations out the gate.

5. Psychology

This last one is perhaps the trickiest, but also probably the most important. We all know trainers need to be leaders and motivators. All clients are unique, and most humans have psychological baggage that’s limiting them from their full potential.

Being a dancer is HARD. It’s hard on the body to put in that much physical work day in and day out. It’s hard to make a living in a field that doesn’t tend to pay a lot even in the best of scenarios. And it’s hard emotionally to consistently perform at a high level at auditions and/ or in shows, while perpetually looking for more employment during what is usually a short career.

Although I have the advantage of having a dance background and spending most of my social time with professional dancers, even a trainer without this advantage should appreciate the life of dancer can be a hard one.

At times, the very culture of the dance world can be psychologically abusive and lend itself to eating disorders, insecurity, and any number of emotional issues. Dancers are often taught that pain is something to be pushed through. It can be a long journey teaching them to delineate between good pain and bad pain, as well as giving them the courage to not push through the latter.

Never forget that having empathy will go a long way towards inspiring dancers to trust you and break out of their comfort zone. They may be comfortable with movement, but they’re usually not comfortable in the gym environment and often have body issues. Be respectful of the fact that many of the things you may believe about ideal training practices may be challenging to dancers. Take the time to build the rapport and never forget they need to know how much you care before they’ll care how much you know.

I am very passionate about taking care of dancers. They create art with their bodies and make personal and physical sacrifices to add beauty to the world. I’m relentless (read: OBSESSED) in my pursuit of the most effective ways to improve the artistry, quality of life, and longevity of recreational and professional dancers.

I understand most trainers aren’t in markets where dancers will make up a large percentage of their clientele. That said, if you do find yourself with a dancer as a client, it’s my hope this article will give you a deeper understanding of their movement needs. I can also promise you this; you will find few clients more satisfying to work with or more enjoyable to train.

Trainers unfamiliar with training special populations may miss some issues training groups like dancers. Let us know what unique groups of people you train and how you approach their needs.

Don’t forget to “like” thePTDC’s Facebook page and join our movement.

Mark is the owner of Mark Fisher Fitness, a team of ridiculous humans who are serious about fitness and reside in the MFF Ninja Clubhouse in the heart of NYC. MFF takes pride in getting industry leading results in health and hotness, talking about unicorns, and dropping a LOT of f bombs. If you’re confused, he doesn’t blame you, and he recommends learning more by visiting our website here, following him on Twitter here, and friending him on Facebook here.
photo credit: William Hamon (aka Ewns), JD Hancock, mkd

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Personal train your client into the ground or lay off? Here’s how you tell.

Jonathan — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:03:49 +0000

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The following is a guest post by Carolyn Appel. Trainers expect clients to work hard but when do you know you’re taking it too far? Carolyn explains how listening to your client and adapting to the situation will create a better training experience. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.

Although our workouts have been more tame the last couple of months while nursing a cranky knee, Neil enjoys these modified sessions better because he’s not completely worn out for the rest of the day. As his trainer, how do I handle that information?

There’s an underlying confidence a trainer must have in order to come to a client—regardless of his situation/goals—and think “I can make you better.” We expect the clients to follow our commands and not particularly care how they get along the rest of the day, because we know we made them stronger and got them one step closer to their goals.

We’re fulfilling their goals but how much of the training process fulfills ours?

By training clients and developing in them greater physical skills, confidence, and energy that they can apply to other areas, we are simultaneously satisfying our egos with the knowledge that WE got them better. Other health professionals feel this way too — a doctor saving a life validates his own abilities.

However, we get to work with people most frequently and have more intimate knowledge of their lives. This relationship should guide our administering of exercise, considering that most of our clients are not pro athletes and must function well in other parts of their lives.

A delicate balance must be achieved so that clients feel like they were pushed, worked hard, but not so hard that they can’t function well later. I have to adapt to how much energy and effort my clients choose to put out:

Nila only uses up as much energy that she has self-designated for “workout time” so that her brain still works well enough to teach graduate students or give a coherent talk to 1,000 people. On the other hand, Rosy wants to be pushed so hard she can’t get off the toilet the next day without arm support.

There’s great satisfaction in tearing someone to shreds, watching them give absolutely every ounce of effort, and observing that capacity increase over time. Early on, the “exhaustion factor” was a large element in how successful I thought a session was.

But with greater experience and insight into the training process, I now know that balance is key: energy management within and among sessions should provide enough stress for adaptations to occur while being mindful of a client’s needs to prevent deterioration of life’s other activities.

Ask yourself:

Do they approach the sessions with energy, positive body language, and enthusiasm?

Clients should feel like this.

Some clients are cheery and enthusiastic while others are more cool and aloof. Get a baseline feel for their behavior during the initial assessment and watch how they react to different challenges during subsequent training sessions. Over time you’ll develop a “database” of information on their behavior to help determine if their mood remains consistent or starts to change.

If training a client feels easy, meaning that she follows instructions, welcomes feedback, and strives to improve, then you are probably not overtaxing her.

If you find that working with a client feels like pulling teeth because he is resistant, tired, closed off to your feedback, disengaged, and constantly looking at the clock during sessions, re-evaluate your approach to determine if this person is just grouchy from life or expressing symptoms of overtraining.

Do they show up for sessions on time or late/cancelling routinely?

It’s possible that punctuality is not your client’s strong suit or that her perennial lateness is due to a jam packed life. But if Susie constantly cancels or, when she does show up, strolls in late without seeming like it’s a problem (wasting valuable training time and disrespecting you) then you may need to determine the underlying reason.

She may be burnt out from months or years of working out and doesn’t have the energy to apply to her sessions. Re-evaluate your programming to make sure you have enough variety (fun!) and deloading time scheduled. People don’t pay good money not to show up to activities that they really enjoy. Something deeper is going on and it’s up to you to find out.

How much sleep do they get?

I ask this during the initial assessment because gives me clues about a client’s general energy state and if she’s resting enough to recover from training. Research is pointing to the role of sleep in learning — we consolidate new movement patterns by “rehearsing” new skills we have done that day, strengthening the memory of those skills, and refining the procedures used to perform them.

8 hours of sleep is a good guideline for most people. If your clients consistently get less you may need to lower their energy requirements for the sessions periodically to avoid overtraining, mechanical breakdown, and injuries.

How much sleep do they get?

Are they routinely sore after workouts?

Follow up with clients after workouts to determine if they’re energized, worn out, or just plain sore. Do this at the beginning of your sessions to get their feedback and to start noticing trends.

If your client says how the workouts energize him for the rest of the day then you know you are on the right track with moderating the intensity level (and perhaps you may want to slowly push the volume or intensity a bit higher).

If a client consistently complains of being tired throughout the day, reassess your programming to adapt his workouts better to the rest of his life. For example, if you know that Jack has a big presentation at work or a long night of baby duty ahead, don’t wreck him so badly that he can’t put all of his resources into those important activities. However, when Jack has a lighter work schedule then take the opportunity to ratchet up the intensity.

If the client repeatedly describes being really sore then you are probably using too much volume or intensity. Soreness isn’t a badge of courage or the mark of an awesome training session—it just means that you haven’t properly progressed the client to tolerate that amount of physical stress. Routine soreness represents a flaw in your program design, not a wussy client, and needs to be addressed.

Clients are not just training to get better at training but to look and function better in the “real world.” Use your careful observations and common sense so that your clients feel that training actually enhances their lives rather than causes them to have less energy and enjoyment of other activities.

Keep on Movin’

How do you assess client stress and adapt training to their lives? Also, don’t forget to “like” thePTDC’s Facebook page and join our movement

CAROLYN APPEL received her Master’s degree in Motor Learning and Control from Teachers College, Columbia University and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA. With a background in competitive, collegiate-level tennis, Ms. Appel has built a career on her passion for fitness, athletics, and skill development. She has worked in the fitness industry for the last decade and has written articles for numerous publications including Muscle and Fitness, Allure Magazine, and on her blog at www.carolynappel.com

photo credit: Elido Turco – Gigi, Edson Hong, istolethetv

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